Best Wildlife Refuge

The Okefenokee Swamp is a large peat-filled wetland extending across southeastern Georgia and northern Florida. Its dark, tannin-stained waters flow through forested islands, cypress stands, open wet prairies, and winding channels, creating habitat for alligators, black bears, wading birds, and many...

The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is a remote coastal wetland in Alaska, United States, globally notable for containing the massive Izembek Lagoon and critical eelgrass beds.

The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is a massive coastal wetland in Alaska, United States, notable for being one of the largest protected wildlife refuges in North America.

Established on the Texas Gulf Coast in 1937, it is the primary wintering ground for the endangered whooping crane, whose wild population recovered from fewer than 20 individuals in the mid-20th century.

The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a large protected wetland in Palm Beach County, Florida, established in 1951. It conserves part of the northern Everglades and includes sawgrass marsh, wet prairie, tree islands, sloughs, and a cypress-swamp perimeter. Managed as both wi...

Established in 1931 along Florida's Gulf Coast, it is one of the oldest national wildlife refuges in the southeastern United States and a nationally significant stopover for migratory monarch butterflies and shorebirds.

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge was established in 1924 and follows approximately 261 miles of the Mississippi River through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. It protects a connected landscape of river channels, backwaters, marshes, floodplain forests, islands,...

The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge protects a significant Chesapeake Bay tidal marsh in Maryland. This area is notable for its diverse bird populations, particularly migratory waterfowl and wading birds. The refuge provides critical habitat for these species and offers opportunities for scienti...

Located in Utah, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a major wetland preserve in the United States, notable for protecting crucial habitat for millions of migrating waterfowl.

Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge is a federally managed protected area centered on Lake Mattamuskeet in Hyde County, North Carolina. The lake is the state's largest natural lake and is shallow, fresh to mildly brackish, and surrounded by marshes, woods, and agricultural habitat. The refuge is p...

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a massive wetland complex in eastern Oregon, United States, notable as a crucial breeding ground for migratory birds in the Pacific Flyway.

The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge protects nearly 15,000 acres of New Jersey’s barrier islands and associated salt marshes. This refuge is a crucial stopover for migratory birds traveling along the Atlantic Flyway, providing essential habitat for numerous species including shorebirds, w...

Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana is a remote high-altitude wetland recognized for saving the trumpeter swan from near extinction.

Hart Mountain Hot Springs are natural mineral springs located within the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in Oregon. The springs offer a unique opportunity for relaxation and therapeutic soaks amidst diverse wildlife including pronghorn antelope and other species. The refuge itself is notable...

The Sabine National Wildlife Refuge protects a significant expanse of brackish marsh along coastal Louisiana’s Gulf Intracoastal Canal. Established in 1937 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it provides crucial habitat for numerous migratory waterfowl species and other wildlife. The refuge is pa...

The Parker River National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 4,600 acres of barrier island marshland along the coast of Massachusetts. Designated in 1942, it safeguards a significant area of saltmarsh habitat vital for migratory birds and other wildlife. The refuge supports diverse ecosystems and provides...

The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge protects the Nisqually River delta where the river enters southern Puget Sound near Olympia, Washington. Established in 1974, it encompasses tidal mudflats, salt marsh, freshwater wetlands, riparian woodland, and restored estuarine habitat. These environments p...

A largely undeveloped refuge along Florida's Gulf Coast, it protects estuarine wetlands and spring-fed rivers that serve as critical habitat for the threatened West Indian manatee and numerous coastal bird species.

The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is a nature preserve located in Iowa, established in 1990 to reconstruct the native tallgrass prairie and oak savanna ecosystems of the American Midwest. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge actively works to restore these historically dim...

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, established in Kansas in 1955, protects salt marshes and prairie wetlands used by whooping cranes and other migratory birds.

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is a federally protected wetland complex established in 1961 along the southwestern shore of Lake Erie in Ohio. It conserves marshes, pools, grasslands, wooded wetlands, and remnants of a once much larger coastal ecosystem. Located on a major migration corridor, the r...

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is a federally protected area in Morris County, New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan region. It was established in 1960 after local conservation efforts opposed a plan to build a major airport on the site. The refuge protects more than 7,000 acres of mars...

Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of coastal prairie in southeastern Texas administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was established to conserve habitat for the critically endangered Attwater's prairie-chicken, a subspecies once widespread along the T...

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge is a protected wetland area on Delaware Bay in the United States. Established in 1937, it preserves extensive tidal salt marsh, freshwater pools, woodland, and fields used by migratory birds traveling along the Atlantic Flyway. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildli...

Seney National Wildlife Refuge is a federally protected wildlife area in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, established in 1935. Its landscape covers roughly 95,000 acres and includes marshes, pools, peatlands, forests, and other wetland habitats managed for wildlife conservation. The refuge supports migra...

The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge located in Queens and Brooklyn, New York City. Established as part of Gateway National Recreation Area in 1972, it encompasses approximately 9,155 acres of diverse habitats including salt marshes, upland fields, freshwater ponds, and coastal woodl...

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, established in Maine in 1966, protects salt marshes and estuaries along about 50 miles of coastline.

Located on the Oregon-California border, the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge is notable for being the first waterfowl refuge established in the United States in 1908.

Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge is a 1.1-million-acre refuge in Montana established in 1936, encompassing badlands, prairies, and the Fort Peck Reservoir and supporting elk, pronghorn, and sage grouse.